JVC HM-DH30000U no power, no display?

[myriad1973]

Before I ask my question, I wanted to tell you what is going on with my VCR.

I have a HM-DH30000U that I have taken to two different local shops that weren’t able to get it working. At some point over probably the past two or three years, the unit stopped powering on and had no front display. The first shop said there was a shorted transistor on the main board with no replacement available, then their technician quit, so no fix there.

The second shop said there was a short in the processor that controls the front display unit and recommended that I try finding another unit to use for parts instead of repairing my unit part by part, so I got lucky and found a unit in need of repair for $120 on eBay. The seller described the problem as a black screen with some white shadows. The shop replaced 2 capacitors in the power supply of the replacement unit and swapped video heads from the original unit, but still couldn’t get anything to display, although he synced the head output to maximum against an oscilloscope, but the output is still low. There is now the “calibrating (error 201)” message on the display when playing a tape.

I did some more research and asked the shop if they checked the caps on the video processing board and search for some other possible issues and he lead me to believe that he didn’t, including not consulting the service manual. He said the power supply is 100% good now, but he believes that the heads are worn, although the heads from the original unit shouldn’t be bad because it didn’t get much use in the 15 years I’ve owned it. I believe he feels that another shop would be able to get it functioning again. Perhaps he doesn't have much experience with VCR's.

I reached out to another shop by email outside of my area and he basically told me that nobody else will touch it since two shops had their hands in it already, I shouldn't have bought a salvage unit, it's a lost cause and basically that JVC sucks. He really wasn't much help.

What I'm trying to find out is, is there a possibility of getting it functioning again? Is it even worth it? Are there some steps that the shop could've taken to identify and correct the problem or something that was overlooked? Could it be something as simple as cleaning the heads (which I have yet to do)?

The only reason I'm even trying to get this unit working again is because I have many home videos that I want to have digitized. I really regret not thinking of it sooner before the VCR croaked. If this doesn't work out, I'll just go through a video transfer service.

Any input from someone with VCR technical knowledge and experience would be appreciated.

[lordsmurf]

Welcome.

To be blunt, it sounds like you've been reaching to shops that are staffed by morons.
Seriously, not reading the service manual? WTF?

But, to answer this question: "Is it even worth it?"
- If you want to play D-VHS tapes, then it's worth it.
- If you think you need a VCR where you can enable both line TBC and stabilizer at the same time, then maybe. Stabilizer is generally more problem than not, and I find it useful maybe twice per year on average.
- If you just want a quality JVC deck with line TBC, then no. There are better S-VHS decks.

Repairing this deck will not be cheap, easily $500-1000 range from anybody competent that I know. And even then, there will be hidden gotchas on playback quality. It's not a suggest deck, or even a 2nd/3rd/4th suggested deck, for a reason.

I hate to toss aside "good model" decks, but then I equally hate to see people using 3rd/4th/5th choice decks for their primary. Especially when costs are equal, more, even half.

Quote:

Could it be something as simple as cleaning the heads (which I have yet to do)?

It is 100% definitely not an issue of cleaning the heads. Cleaning heads is not a fix-all for whatever ails a deck. Head cleaning is for specific problems, none of which you have here.

It's like getting a flat tire, then asking if adding a quart of oil will fix it. :lol:

Quote:

I reached out to another shop by email outside of my area and he basically told me that nobody else will touch it since two shops had their hands in it already, I shouldn't have bought a salvage unit, it's a lost cause and basically that JVC sucks. He really wasn't much help.

That sounds exactly like John from johnstvllc.com. (That guy was such an ignorant asshole.)

[myriad1973]

Thanks for the information. If it ends up being that expensive, I probably won’t even bother with it. It would probably be better to resell to someone who has an interest in D-Theater movies or something. There are two other shops in my area that I want to consult first before deciding what I’m going to do.

Do you happen to know what else could be causing the lack of picture being displayed?

[aramkolt]

The 30000U usually has bad surface mount TBC caps from my understanding, though I've never worked on one. I did work on 3 parts 40000U's and was only able to make one work with different parts between them even after extensive recapping on on of them including full TBC and power supply recaps on each.

For this reason, I don't offer to work on 40000U's because my success rate isn't high enough to make it a probable fix and spare parts are hard to come by.

I'd take a crack at a 30000U if it hadn't been into before, but with each repair attempt or even disassembly, there's some risk new damage that you'd have no way of knowing happened. Static damage is also possible while a unit is apart and you're kind of out of luck if that happens. I've also seen some series of machines where if the caps go bad, some ICs can be permanently that aren't going to get un-damaged after you recap.

What's the draw to the 30000U specifically? Do you have D-Theater tapes that you want to play?

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aramkolt

I did work on 3 parts 40000U's and was only able to make one work with different parts between them even after extensive recapping on on of them including full TBC and power supply recaps on each.
I've also seen some series of machines where if the caps go bad, some ICs can be permanently that aren't going to get un-damaged after you recap.

You ran into cascade issues. All the D-VHS decks are similar internally.

[myriad1973]

Quote:

What's the draw to the 30000U specifically? Do you have D-Theater tapes that you want to play?

Preservation mainly. I’ve had the deck for 15 years and I have some home videos that I wanted to digitize. It’s sounding more like I may have to skip attempting any further repairs and go through a transfer service.

[aramkolt]

I only say that because the 30000U is just less reliable than other SVHS machines. If your content is D-Theater, then yeah, there's very few options - I can only think of the 30kU, 40kU, and the HM-DH5U as far as US models.

If you've got regular recorded D-VHS, the Mitsubishi D-VHS machine isn't too bad and does also have a line TBC, model number is HS-HD2000U

But if you just have regular VHS, any of the recommended machines are fine and should be more reliable in general.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by myriad1973

and go through a transfer service.

Just be sure it's not a bottom-feeder service like LegacyBox/Kodak/Southtree.

Tell me more about your project:
- How many tapes?
- What recording mode are your VHS tapes? SP, LP, EP/SLP, or a mix? If mix, % of each? If not known, guestimate. (What you don't want to do is put these tapes in a ratty old VCR, and have the tapes get damaged.)
- What % of your VHS collection is from a camcorder, a VCR, and retail?
- What era are your tapes from, % of each? 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s?
- Are you aware of any problems with the tapes? Either with the signal, or physical? (mold, etc)

[myriad1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Just be sure it's not a bottom-feeder service like LegacyBox/Kodak/Southtree.

There is a local service that I plan on calling.

[aramkolt]

Local definitely has its advantages - main one being your tapes can't get lost in the mail.

See if they'll tell you which VCR models and other capture hardware they are using and what the delivery format/bitrate is and post back about it. I'd be curious what they tell you.

[myriad1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aramkolt

Local definitely has its advantages - main one being your tapes can't get lost in the mail.

See if they'll tell you which VCR models and other capture hardware they are using and what the delivery format/bitrate is and post back about it. I'd be curious what they tell you.

I plan on it. I’ll be calling them this coming week. There are two near my job.

[themaster1]

Have you checked the notorious CP (circuit protectors) on the board/ powersupply. They protect the circuitry go "pop" like a fuse and then no power. Just an idea

[myriad1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by themaster1

Have you checked the notorious CP (circuit protectors) on the board/ powersupply. They protect the circuitry go "pop" like a fuse and then no power. Just an idea

The replacement unit powers on without any issues. There is just no display.

[themaster1]

Check this video:
https://youtu.be/5JWlFJa6dwQ?si=mzMiwB6PMze7nTS0

But also check the cp's on the display board /psu

[myriad1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by themaster1

Check this video:
https://youtu.be/5JWlFJa6dwQ?si=mzMiwB6PMze7nTS0

But also check the cp's on the display board /psu

Sorry, I meant that the VCR doesn’t display a picture on the screen and there is a calibrating (error 201) message. There is low or no video output.

[themaster1]

Oh ok totally different then, check the cables by any chance but that sounds bad

[myriad1973]

As a long shot, I decided to clean the heads and hook it up to my receiver. The calibrating message is gone. Now there is just ghostly images on the screen. Does anyone have any technical knowledge for such a problem?